Political philosophy and the challenge of revealed religion

Autor*innen

• Heinrich Meier

Parameter

• 224 Seiten
• 8 Lesestunden

• Philosophie
• Sachliteratur

Mehr zum Buch

Heinrich Meier’s guiding insight in this work is that philosophy must justify its existence and necessity against the claims of revealed religion, which demands truth and obedience. Philosophy must defend its free questioning, leading to a focus on political philosophy. In the first chapter, Meier identifies four interconnected moments that form the concept of political philosophy as a cohesive and dynamic entity. The subsequent chapters explore this concept through two significant works that have engaged Meier for over thirty years: Leo Strauss’s Thoughts on Machiavelli and Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Social Contract. Meier conducts a thorough analysis of Thoughts on Machiavelli, including an appendix with Strauss’s original manuscript headings. He connects the issues raised by Socrates, the origin of political philosophy, with those posed by Machiavelli, marking the onset of modern political thought, while addressing the political and theological challenges to philosophy. Meier demonstrates that Strauss’s complex and controversial work is a profound examination of the challenge posed by revealed religion. The final chapter presents a new interpretation of the Social Contract, arguing that Rousseau’s renowned text can only be fully understood as a coherent political-philosophical response to theocracy in its various forms.

• Sprache: Englisch
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2018